


Where Do We Go From Here?

by Smokeycut



Category: Justice League of America
Genre: Angst, Canon Typical Violence, Coping with loneliness, Elseworld, JLA - Freeform, Redemption, abandonment issues (kinda)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-27
Updated: 2018-01-27
Packaged: 2019-03-10 06:35:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,598
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13496756
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Smokeycut/pseuds/Smokeycut
Summary: The JLA has disbanded, and Killer Frost is the only one left in Happy Harbor. Will she give in to her depression and cut herself off from the world? Will she return to her old ways? Or will she pick up the pieces and keep fighting for the people?





	Where Do We Go From Here?

_"So what'll you do now?"_

The question rang in Caitlin's head for weeks and weeks, soon to be four whole months. Her team, her path to redemption, her family, was gone. Disbanded. Scattered to the wind. Lobo was off on another world, Dinah had gone back to Seattle, Ray back to Vanity, Mari was busy with her own life too, running her company. Batman was hardly ever around as it was, so losing him didn't mean much, but Ryan... 

She had gone through so much. Becoming this heat-stealing vampire, becoming a criminal against her will, the Squad... but then there was light, a glimmer of _hope_. The Justice League of America. Her. A super villain. On the JLA. It was like one of the fantastical daydreams that she had had in college, just with ice powers and subatomic adventures instead of a walking castle and witches. She could still recall her first moment of freedom with perfect clarity. The spring breeze on her skin, blowing her hair and lifting her smile up to the clouds. She was alive and free and had been given a _chance_.

_"So what'll you do now?"_

Then she was alone, all alone. Sitting at the round table in The Sanctuary. Happy Harbor had no Justice League anymore. No more open doors. No more window into their base of operations. She had covered up those windows and locked the doors after Mari walked out of the building and left Caitlin to her own devices. They had promised to keep in touch, everyone except for Lobo. Even Batman said he'd check in from time to time to make sure that she was holding her head above the water. But the first minute that she was alone, she felt the walls begin to close in. And when she felt that loneliness coming in around her, she gave in to it. She locked the doors. She covered the windows. She let the dream of the JLA die.

Still, one chair was filled in the cavern Caitlin called home. Three months, three weeks, six days and thirteen hours since she last spoke to Ryan. Since she last spoke to anyone from the glory days. She felt numb. Hungry. She would need to feed soon, but she thanked the heavens that she had at least managed to hold onto her soul. She could take just a little from the people in town, enough to stay warm but not so much as to hurt anyone. At least she still had that.

She left The Sanctuary and greeted the fall weather with a deep breath. Stiff brown leaves spun through the air and whirled past her, scraping along the ground. She shoved her hands in her pockets and trudged off towards town as the sun began to set.

There was a restaurant on the marina that she had come to frequent during her time in Happy Harbor, and even after the JLA split, she found herself stopping by just as often as when they were still whole. She sat at a table in the corner, her back to two windowed walls, and ordered a plate fried cod from the pretty young woman who waited on her. It was Lobo's preferred dish, and while she knew that he would rip into her for being so sentimental, she did it anyways. To spite him, obviously. 

The clatter of plates and hum of conversation mixed with the old 90s grunge music that filtered in through the radio, and all together they served as accompaniment to her meal. Between bites, Caitlin's eyes kept being drawn to the empty seats around her table. Even here, there were vacancies that once were filled by the smiling faces of her friends and comrades. But she couldn't help recall the night that Dinah sang _Piano Man_ for them all as the team shared a meal on their first weekend in town. They had had a good run, hadn't they? Even if it was over, it had left an impact on them all. Or at least it had on her. Isn't that what matters?

But the peace in her mind wasn't allowed to persist. With a loud crash and a scattering of glass, a man was thrown through the front door of the restaurant and landed on the floor inside. He groaned with pain, and Caitlin stood reactively, noticing the cuts on his skin from the broken glass. He would be alright, but another man stepped into the building, and she knew right away that this one was a Meta. A ghostly white face contrasted with a red bodysuit, and flames flickered on top of his scalp in place of hair. He growled, and a ball of fire ignited in the palm of his hand.

"That's what happens when you cross me, man. Now you can apologize, and give me your wallet like I asked, or I can torch you and every sucker in this joint. What's it gonna be?"

Four months since the JLA had disbanded. Four months since Happy Harbor had seen Frost save lives. She had shut herself away and given up being a hero. She had tried to just live a solitary life, as a normal, depressed woman. But she had come face to face with a situation where people were in danger. The kind of situation that she and the JLA would have dealt with, before smiling for the cameras and speaking with the loving populace. But the JLA were gone. She wasn't a hero. She was just a lonely woman who's friends had left her behind.

_"So what'll you do now?"_

She had asked herself that question every day for four months. And here she had her answer. Didn't even need to think about it. Frost leapt into action, because lives were at stake.

She reached out, and a beam of pure cold shot out of her hands, pushing the villain back and leaving a patch of ice on his chest. He cried out in pain and stumbled out into the marina. Frost followed him out as the other patrons of the restaurant watched with interest. As he righted himself, he glared at her and readied an attack of his own.

"JLA's gone, lady. No more heroes in this town! That's why I came here in the first place. But if I gotta kill you to make that true, then fine by me. Fire beats ice any day!" 

Flames rose up from his feet, twisting into the form of twin snakes. With a motion of his arms, they lunged towards Frost. She held up her hands and locked eyes with the villain, making sure he saw the flaming serpents get sucked up by her palms. She laughed, and hoped it didn't sound too evil. But it was a wonderful feeling, being recharged so fully. 

"What?!" The villain stared in shock and confusion, but quickly prepared another creature made from his fire, and sent it her way. Still, all it did was slam into her chest and dissipate, warming her cool body.

"People always forget, I don't just make ice. I _steal heat_. Too bad for you, huh?" With that taunt, Frost walked right up to her foe and iced up her hand, forming a boxing glove of sorts. She slammed it into his chest and knocked him back, shattering the ice with the force of the blow. She raised her other hand to his chest and shot out another beam of cold, forcing him back a few more steps, closer to the edge of the marina, closer to the water.

"W-w-weren't supposed to be no more heroes h-here," he stuttered, his teeth chattering from the cold she was forcing onto him. 

"There'll _always_ be heroes here, as long as I'm around. The JLA isn't gone, it's just become a one-woman show." 

A right cross finished the job, knocking him back and making him fall into the water. Dinah's boxing lessons weren't something she'd let herself forget. And as she came out of the tunnel-vision that fights always bring, she noticed the onlookers. Restaurant patrons, boaters, couples and families who were enjoying the evening, all with their eyes on her. The first time that people stared at her, it was when she was hurting people, tearing her way through a city in search of warmth, not caring who she hurt. But this was different. Not fear, but adoration. They applauded her, cheered her name.

"You get 'em, Frost!"

"Thank you, Frost!"

"You saved us!"

"I knew the JLA hadn't quit on us!"

"Hell yeah, you're the best, Frost!"

And more of the same. A simple feeling of joy washed over Caitlin as she took it all in. The cool evening air, the lingering heat from Effigy's fire, the clapping hands and whooping cheers, the feelings that only came from doing what heroes do. She couldn't help but laugh into her hands, and wipe away the tears that welled up in her eyes. In that moment, Caitlin realized that she didn't have to be alone. The people of Happy Harbor didn't care if there were seven heroes in Mount Justice or just one. They just needed a hero to look up to. She needed them too. And so she spoke with them, made sure that everyone was okay. She cooled the injured man's wounds and handed off Effigy to the police when they arrived. She made friends, formed connections with the community. She did what heroes do. It was the most natural thing in the world.

_"So what'll you do now?"_

This. The answer is this.

**Author's Note:**

> I realized that I haven't really done much with Killer Frost, and since she's one of my favorite characters I decided to fix that. There's a lot I relate to with her, and so writing her helps to work through some issues. Hope you enjoyed!


End file.
